Houston beats Bengals 19-13 in wild-card playoff

Houston beats Bengals 19-13 in wild-card playoff

January 5th, 2013by Associated Press in Local - Breaking News

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) celebrates his one-yard touchdown run against the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter of an NFL wild card playoff football game Saturday in Houston.

Photo by
Associated Press
/Times Free Press.

HOUSTON - Arian Foster ran for 140 yards and a touchdown, and the Houston Texans used a stifling defensive effort for a 19-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday in an AFC wild-card playoff game.

The Texans will next play at New England on Jan. 13.

Foster became the first player in NFL history to have 100-yard games in each of his first three playoff games.

The Texans (13-4) had trouble finishing drives all day and mustered only three field goals in the first half. Houston struck first after the break, with Foster scoring the game's only offensive touchdown on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to make it 16-7.

In his first playoff start, Matt Schaub had an interception returned for a touchdown by Leon Hall before halftime.

Johnathan Joseph had an interception and J.J. Watt had a sack as the Texans beat the Bengals (10-7) in the wild-card round for the second straight year. Cincinnati hasn't won a playoff game since 1991, the league's longest current streak.